Various apparatuses and methods of holding and conveying articles are disclosed in the patent literature and on the internet. Patent publications disclosing apparatuses and methods of holding and/or conveying articles include: U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,953, Muir, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,426,884, Donner; U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,237, MacGregor, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,380, Risca; U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,941, Stark, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,813,951, Forsthoevel, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,032,880 B2, King, et al. (assigned to MagneMotion, Inc.); U.S. Pat. No. 9,085,420 B2, Williams, et al.; and, U.S. Pat. No. 9,193,108 B2, Seger, et al. Some types of vacuum holding devices are shown on the following internet sites: www.hysitron.com; www.toolocity.com; and www.vacmotion.com.
Many current conveyor systems use plastic “pucks” to transport bottles around the conveying systems. Such conveyor systems suffer from a number of drawbacks. The plastic pucks are often made to only fit one size and shape of an article, such as a bottle. The pucks also obstruct portions of the article so that it is not possible to apply decorations such as labels, stickers, shrink sleeves, and the like to the portions of the article behind the puck.
In conveyors in which an article is held in place on a conveyor by vacuum, the conveyor will typically have a hose that runs from a vacuum pump that is tethered to portion of the conveyor holding the article. As a result, at least a portion of the hose would ordinarily be required to travel along with the part of the conveyor to which it is attached.
Therefore, a need exists for, among other things, improved apparatuses and methods of holding and conveying articles.